The Passion Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Lecture 52
THE LII. LECTVRE, OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.
IHON, CHAP. XXI.
verse 20 Then Peter turned about, and ſaw the Diſciple whom Ieſus loued, following, which had alſo leaned on His breſt at ſupper, and had ſaide, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
verse 21 When Peter therefore ſaw him, he ſaid to Ieſus, Lord, what ſhall this man doe?
verse 22 Ieſus ſaid vntounto Him, If I will that he tarie till J come, what is it to thee? follow thou Me.
verse 23 Then went this word abroad among the brethren, that this diſciple ſhould not die: Yet Ieſus ſaide to him, he ſhall not die: but if I will that he tarie till J come, what is it to thee?
verse 24 This is that diſciple, which testifieth of theſe things, and wrote thoſe things, and we know that his testimonie is true.
verse 25 Now there are alſo many other things, which Jeſus did, the which if they ſhould be written eueryevery one, I ſuppoſe the world could not containe the bookes that ſhould be written, Amen.
WEE hauehave heard, Brethren, that after the Lord had reſtored Peter to the dignitie of the Apoſtle ſhippe, from the which hee had fallen by his threefold deniall of his Maſter, in the Hall of the High Prieſt, he addes to his abſolution & reſtitution, a premonition, and forewarning, forewarning him, that in the end of his Apoſtleſhip, when he ſhould become an old man, he ſhould cloſe vp and ſeale his Apoſtleſhip with his blood When thou waſt young, ſayes the Lord to Peter, thou girdedſt thy ſelfe: thou knittedſt, thy clothes, when thou waſt wont to goe any way, and wentedſt, whither thou pleaſedſt: but when thou ſhalt be olde, thou ſhalt not get credence to gird thy ſelfe, to put thy girdle about thee: but thou ſhalt ſtretch out thine hands, and another ſhall gi…d thee with cordes and chaines, and ſhall lead thee away, not where it ſhall pleaſe thee, but where it ſhall pleaſe him, he ſhall lead thee to the death. We heard, Iohn opened vp the meaning of theſe words and told vsus, that Chriſt thereby ſignified, that Peter ſhould glorifie God by a violent death: and thereafter, to encourage him, the Lord goes before him, & bids Peter follow Him, ſignifying thereby, that His death had taken away the bitterneſſe of death, and that by vertue of His Reſurrection, he ſhould liue againe.
Now in the wordes that we hauehave read, in the firſt place we hauehave ſet downe a new conference betweene the Lord and Peter: for while they are in the waye, the Lorde going before, and Peter, following, there they fall againe in a new conference, and Peter, as he was ay too raſh, albeit very zealous: ſo here raſhly he demandes a curious queſtion, and it is about Iohn the writter of this Goſpell: the queſtion is, What ſhould Iohn doe? What ſhall this man doe? Shall he not follow the Lord? The Lord had not bidden him follow Him: it might hauehave contented Peter well enough, that the Lord had kept ſilence of Iohn, and he to hauehave done the thing that the Lord bade him. Nowe, Brethren, ere I come to the queſtion, yee muſt marke the occaſions of this curioſitie of Peter: I perceiue, the firſt occaſion that brings Peter to this queſtion, is this: When they are going together, Peter lookes ouer his ſhoulder, and turnes him about, and turnes his eye from the Lord, and looked to Iohn, that apparantly followed a far…e off: vponupon which followes this curioſitie, and this learnes vsus this leſſon: If the Lord bid thee, followe Him in any calling what euer it be, as Hee bade Peter followe Him to the death (that was his calling, for a man followes God in his calling, all lawfull callings are but a following of the LORD) learne here to be wiſer than Peter: hold thine eye conſtantly vponupon Him, thine heart vponupon Him: in thy calling followe Him foot for foot: tread thou in the ſame footſteps, ſo farre as He ſhall giuegive the grace, decline not, neither to the right hand, nor to the left: & as to thine eye, looke that it be neuer drawne frō Him, looke not ouer thy ſhoulder to ſee what is behind thee, but look conſtantly on the Lord: for if thou doe this, thou loſes ye ſight of Him, & that of need force ſhall make thee to ſettle backe in thy calling: Peter but once turning, goes one foot backward, & falles back frō yt courſe wherin he ſhould hauehave walked, Paul Philip. 3.14. conſidered this well, & in that race he ranne to be partaker of Reſurrectiō, & life euerlaſting, he ſayes, I neuer looke behind me, I neuer looke ouer my ſhoulder, to ſee what is behind, but mine eye is euer vponupon the marke, to get the price of the high calling of God. Seeing then we hauehave taken vp a courſe to walke in to that life, Ieſus Chriſt beeing the forerunner, and breaking vp the Heauen: holde thine eye continually vponupon the forerunner: follow Him in thine own calling▪ and ſee that thine eye goe neuer off Him▪ It is the felicitie of the creature to follow Him, and thou muſt follow the Lord in thine owne calling: there is the firſt occaſiō. Vpō this followes another: for piece & piece he comes to his curioſity, turning himſelfe about, & looking to John, Whom the Lord loued, who was very familiar with the Lord, & apparantly hath vſed the Lord more homely, than any of the reſt▪ for he was the man which leaned on Ieſus breſt at ſupper: for whē ye Lord forewarned them, that one of them ſhould betray Him, Peter winkes vpō Iohn, & beckenes vntounto him, as hee leaned on ye Lords breſt, to aske who it was: John ſaid, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Now Peter remēbring this louelove of ye Lord towards John, & this great familiaritie, he marueiles why that Diſciple ſhould hauehave bene left behind, & ſhould not hauehave beene required to follow Him, as well as he, and ſo he falles out in this curious queſtion, & forgets in a manner his own calling: there is the ground: Peter looking to Iohn, he ſees him not ſo ſoone, but hee findes in him the matter of his curioſitie: wilt thou leaue off thine own calling, & take leaſure to looke about thee here or there, to this man or that man, whē ye Lord hath bidden thee ſtrictly follow Him, & forbidden yt thou ſhouldſt looke about thee: thou ſhalt not ſo ſoone do this, but as ſoone thou ſhalt find matter of curioſitie: No, if thou take thee yt leaſure to looke to another, thou ſhalt get a ſtūbling block to ſtay thee frō thy calling: therfore, if thou be called by God to any calling, looke yt thine eye be neuer off ye Lord, as thou wilt be anſwerable to Him, hold thine eye vponupon Him, take thee not ſo much leaſure frō thine own calling, as to looke once to another man: ô yt ſtrict life yt is required of a Chriſtian: men thinke yt they may liue looſely as they pleaſe: No, but thou muſt walke circumſpectly, & preciſely in thy calling, holding thy eye vpō ye Lord: Another thing I marke: Peter, whē he ſees Iohn following after, wonders yt the Lord bids not him alſo follow, he thinkes that ye Lords homelines with Iohn is failed. It wil be at times, yt theſe men yt hauehave found in greateſt experience ye louelove of Chriſt, & familiaritie wt Him (& bleſſed are they yt hauehave found His louelove, & is homely with Him: if thy acquaintance begin not here, yu ſhalt neuer be acquainted wt Him hereafter, let no mā be guile himſelfe) it will be yt mē wil think ye Lord has forgot them, has left them, & caſt them off, & they themſelues wil begin to doubt of ye Lords fauour, the ſmalleſt thing yt can be, wil make vsus to dout: but there is no cauſe why either yu ſhouldſt doubt, or other men ſhould think ſo: for whom He loues, He loues to ye end. The anſwere which ye Lord giues here to Peter, teſtifies His louelove was as great now as euer it was before: if thou getteſt once His louelove, it ſhall not faile thee, it wil appeare, indeed, to thy ſenſe, yt it failes, but meaſure thou not ye fauour of God by theſe things that are outward yu muſt not judge raſhly, either of thy ſelfe, or of others by theſe outward things. Now come to ye queſtion: vponupon theſe occaſions followes this queſtion, What ſhall this man doe? Shal not Iohn thy beloued diſciple follow thee? Wilt thou leaue him behind thee? If thou giueſt mee this honour to die for thee, wilt thou not giuegive him the like. Ye ſee here, an example of curioſitie, not only ſuperfluous, but hurtfull: he hurt himſelfe, and did no good to Iohn? What was the ground of it? he tooke him leaſure from his vocation, which was to looke to Ieſus, and to follow Him, to ſcanſe vponupon John. Vpō this, hee falles in this inconuen…ent, Paul 2. Theſſ. 3.11. ſpeaking of them who liued inordinately, he joynes theſe together, They worke nothing themſelues: again, They are curious about other mens affaires: Meaning, yt all this curioſitie about other mens affaires comes frō idlenes in their own calling. Vpō this it comes to paſſe, yt thou ſets thy mind on other folk: if thou wert buſie in thy own calling yu wouldſt not be curious in other folks affaires, & this ye ſhal find, yt theſe mē that buſie their heades about other mens adoes, finding fault with this man, and that man, they are moſt idle, and careleſſe of their owne adoes: fye vponupon this curioſitie, fleeting and flowing hither and thither. Then ſet thy minde on thine owne calling, & ſo thou ſhalt not get time to trouble and vexe thy minde with other mens adoes. This is the curious queſtion: folke would thinke that this is but a light worde which Peter ſpeakes, but it is not ſo: for beſide this curioſitie, there is another fault in him, hee hath a ſiniſtrous judgement of the Lords doing, he thinkes all men ſhould be called to one calling: hee is called to die for Him, and ſo hee thinkes ſhould Iohn alſo: but the LORD lets him ſee, that hee is beguiled. There are many in this warfare, but all this hath not one ſtation & calling, he hath one, & he hath another, he hath this, he hath that, The Lord will ſay to one, Doe thou this: to another, Doe thou that: to Peter, Follow me: to John, tarie thou ſtill there: for example: There will be ten men in this warfare, & he will take one of the ten, and ſay, Come thou out, and goe, & be burnt for my Names ſake, and he will let the reſt ſtand ſtill, and will exerciſe them with croces: ſome more gently, ſome more ſharply, as pleaſes Him: ſo diuerſly Hee will croſſe them: no Chriſtian without ſome croſſe: be patient in it, & thou ſhalt get a faire outgate: He will exerciſe one in the minde, and another in the body, the third in his goods and geare: He hath many wayes to exerciſe His owne: if there were a thouſand of them, Hee will get as many croſſes, ſo that none ſhall eſcape his croſſe. It is a vaine thing, to thinke, that all men ſhoulde be called to that, whereunto thou are called: No, leaue others to the Lord, to doe with them as He pleaſes: goe thou to the ſcaffold, if the Lord command thee, and leaue thy neighbour.
Thus farre, for the curious queſtion: Now come to the rebuke: He meetes Peter in anger, and with ſharpe words, If I will that hee tarie till I come, what is it to thee? Doe that which thou art commanded to doe: Follow thou me: As He would ſay, Let John be: thou art too curious, looke to thy ſelfe: turne thine eye from Iohn, and follow me in thy calling, which I hauehave placed thee into. Yee ſhall perceiue in this reproofe three things that He findes fault with: Firſt, that he ſhould hauehave left off his calling: the ſecond that he was curious about Johns calling: the third the greateſt of all, hee enters into the calling of the Lord: a great vſurpation: it pertained to the Lord, to call Iohn, and eueryevery man, as pleaſes Him. O! but hee would be the caller of John: this is no ſmall thing: No, no, thou muſt not ſcoffe with the Lord, as though Hee had no diſcretion to call others: ſo in this doing, he does injurie to the Lord. Brethren, behold in Peter, how many euills falles on curioſitie: Firſt, hee forgets his owne calling: Secondly, hee is too curious in his brothers calling: Laſtly, hee does an injurie to Chriſt, makes an eruption vponupon Chriſtes office, to ſpoyle Him of His authoritie and power, to call all: and thinke ye not, albeit the Lord now adayes, as Hee did Peter then, but He lookes with an angrie eye vponupon curious men. This rebuke is regiſtrated, to rebuke thee, if thou be giuen to curioſitie: But it would bee marked, that albeit the Lord be angrie with Peter, yet neuertheleſſe He forgets not His merciemercy. When He found him to linger in his courſe, the Lord leaues him not, but He puts out His hand, and takes holde of him: therefore He ſayes, Follow thou me. This is the merciemercy of the Lord towards His owne, that when He rebukes them, He leaues them not there, but He will put out His hand, and pull them in againe to Him: No, neuer one of vsus would goe forward, except by a new grace pulled vsus forward except the Lord led vsus by the hand, there could not be ſuch a thing, as a man could be ſaued. There is ſuch a stumbling and wauering in our nature: therefore Paul ſaide, I ſtriue by all meanes to attaine to the Reſurrection of the dead: Yea rather, ſayes he, I am comprehended of Chriſt Jeſus, Phil. 3.11, 12. Therefore, ay cry for grace after grace, otherwiſe, thou canſt not goe one foot right forwarde, much leſſe perſeuere to the end. Ye will aske a queſtion: Should neuer one of vsus be carefull of our brother in his calling? Humanitie required, that Peter ſhould bee carefull of John: is this the thing the Lord reprooues and forbids? I anſwere: there is a great difference betweene carefulneſſe and curioſitie: it is not carefulneſſe Hee findes fault with: Woe to him that cares for himſelfe only: for why ſhould not eueryevery one of vsus be helping one another, & be carefull to bring forward the ſtragling body? But it is curioſitie that the Lord reprooues. Then the leſſon is this ſhortly: Take heede, that by thy doing (men ſhould be very wiſe) thou hindereſt not thy ſelfe more by thy curioſitie, when thou entereſt into the affaires of thy brother, than thou profiteſt him by thy care: when thou beginneſt to care for him: beware thou fall not in curioſitie: paſſe neuer the bounds of thy calling: for there is none that hath a calling, but it is joyned with care of his brother, & the higher calling the greater care. The Kings calling requires a great care of others in the Policie: Such like, the Miniſters calling is joyned vvith a care for the people, not to feed himſelf, but to feed the people. It is joyned with a ſpeciall and wonderfull care, ſo that night and day his eye ſhould not bee off his flocke: Yet men ſhould beware, that their care turne not to curioſitie. Curioſitie is very dangerous. A curious man has no louelove to thee, for he takes pleaſure in the hurt & euill that falles to thee, and it is his meat & drinke, hee feedes vponupon the euill report of others. Iohn ſubjoynes, that when the Diſciples hearde of theſe words of Chriſt, they giuegive them a ſtrange gloſſe. They ſay, Iohn ſhould not die. A faire gloſſe, a faire commentarie. Iohn ſayes, This was not the meaning of the Lord, He ſpake not ſuch a thing, He ſaide not to him, hee ſhould not die, and that was not His minde, Hee tolde not whether hee ſhould liue or die. But Hee ſaide, If I will, hee tarrie till I come, what is that to thee? Yee ſee howe readie men are to miſconſtrue and peruert the one-folde meaning of the LORD. If the Diſciples, vvho heard His owne liuelie voyce, vvere ſo readie to giuegive a falſe and a lying gloſſe to His vvorde, vvhichwhich they hearde Him ſpeake; I pray you, vvhat maruell is it, albeit men daylie miſconſtrue the vvritten vvorde of GOD, and neuer leaue off to father lies vponupon the Scriptures? Yee vvonder at the Papiſtes: I vvonder not. Looke the whole Scriptures: theſe Traitors conclude euer a lye vponupon the trueth. Looke the Rhemiſh newe Teſtament, and the reſt of their vvrittes, I vvonder not at them, but I vvonder at this, Conſidering this groſſeneſſe of ignorance, and the propenſion of men naturallie to miſconſtrue GODS Worde, and Will, that there is ſo much as one to open the trueth, and to vnderſtand the right meaning of the vvorde. The cauſe of this miſconſtruing is not of the Scripture, as if it vvere doubtſome, harde, obſcure, or as a noſe of vvaxe, as they blaſpheme: but the fault is partlie in the blindneſſe of the minde of man, and partlie in the peruerſitie and frowardneſſe of the vvill, and malice of the heart: for it falles out, that either (ſuch is the blindneſſe of man by nature,) they knowe not the minde of the LORDE, or elſe, if they knowe His minde, yet vvillinglie they deſire not to knowe it, but to remaine ignorant: for it is true that the Apoſtle PETER ſayes, They that are vnlearned and vnſtable wreast the SCRIPTVRES to their owne deſtruction, 2 Pet. Chap. 3. verſ. 16. And PAVL ſayes, Jf our GOSPELL bee hidden, it is hidden to them who periſhes, whoſe eyes the god of this world hath blinded, 2. Cor. 4.34. Againe we may perceiue, that a lye ran ſpeedily abroad, and was eaſily receiued, & got ſoone place in the hearts of th'Apoſtles, wherof we may learn, that the multitude commonly drinkes in lyes, vanities, fables, and Hereſies very ſuddenly, becauſe naturally they are very bent thereunto. Yet this errour remained not long vvith th'Apoſtles: for after that, according to the Lordes promiſe, extraordinarily in the day of the PENTECOSTE, they vvere illuminated, and after the Holie Spirite vvas giuen them, vvho called all thinges to remembrance which the Lord had ſpoken vntounto them, when Hee was preſent with them, and gaue them the true meaning and vnderſtanding of all theſe thinges (as CHRIST ſayes, Joh. chap. 14. verſ. 26.) This lye concerning IOHN euaniſhed, then all the Diſciples knewe the LORDES meaning, when Hee ſpake theſe wordes to Peter, of Iohn, If I will that hee tarrie till I come, what is that to thee? But the Papiſhe Kirke, and that Antichriſtian Kingdome this day, makes it plaine enough vntounto vsus, howe bent men are by nature to receiue, maintaine, and entertaine lyes, and vanities: for in that Kingdome not onelie is this fable of IOHN retained, but alſo an hudge multitude of lyes, and of the vanities and fantaſies of the braine of man, which were deuiſed by the GENTILES, are allowed and receiued: for almoſte all the Religion of the Papiſtes, like a Beggers cloake, is clouted and patched together, partlie of the fables and ſuperſtitions of the GENTILES, and partlie of the Rites and Ceremonies of the Iewes, vvhichwhich vvere aboliſhed by the comming of CHRIST. If anie vvould knowe what fables they maintaine, and giuegive out, concerning Iohn, let them reade their golden Legende.
Nowe in the laſt two verſes of this Euangell, the Apoſtle concludes his GOSPELL, and in the concluſion hee telles vsus vvho this vvas of vvhome Chriſt and PETER vvere ſpeaking of in the vvordes preceeding, Euen that ſame Diſciple which testifies of theſe thinges and wrote theſe thinges. And ſo telling that it vv…s hee, that vvitneſſed, and wrote theſe things, he cloſes vp his Euangel, and puts his ſeale to it. But the vvordes are to bee marked: IOHN ſayes, hee testifies theſe thinges, meaning by worde: and then againe, hee wrote the ſame thinges: So hee bore vvitneſſe of the Goſpell of Chriſt, both by worde and writing. Whereof wee hauehave to l…arne. That wee ſhould ſtriue all manner of vvayes to beare vvitneſſe vntounto the trueth of the GOSPELL of CHRIST, by vvorde, by vvrit, by confeſſion of our mouthes, & if need require, by the ſhedding of our blood alſo: for the moe teſtimonies be giuen to the trueth, the greater glorie redounds to God: Againe, we ſee, Iohn, when he hath ended the Hiſtorie of the Goſpell, hee affixes and puts to his ſeale to it. We ſhuld follow this exāple: for after we hauehave preached Chriſt, we ſhould be readie to ſeale it, if it were with our blood Looke to Paul, after he had preached Chriſt to the Philippians, and had laboured to make them to beleeue, he ſayes to them, he would rejoyce and be glad with them, although hee were offered vp vponupon the ſacrifice and ſeruice of their Faith: that is, hee would bee content to ſeale vp the Goſpel which he had preached to them, by his death, that their Faith might be the more confirmed.
Now, in the wordes following hee ſets downe the cauſe which mooued him to put to his ſeale to his Goſpel: for ſayes he, We know that his teſtimonie is true: So the cauſe of his ſealing of his Goſpell, is the full perſwaſion and aſſurance which hee had of the trueth: And, indeede, hee only who hath full aſſurance in his heart of the trueth of theſe thinges, that hee teaches, can confidently put his ſeale to his preaching: and therefore a Miniſter ſhould endeuoure to hauehave full perſwaſion in his heart, that he may ſpeake with libertie and great aſſurance, as Paul ſpeakes of himſelfe, 1. Theſſ. 1.5. and that if neede require, hee may ſeale the Goſpell with his owne blood.
Now to come to the laſt verſe, and to end ſhortly: The Apoſtle meetes a queſtion, that ſome curious men might hauehave demanded: they might hauehave asked: Are all the thinges which Chriſt did, and the wonders which Hee wrought, ſet downe in write by thee? To this he anſweres: That all things which Ieſus did, are not written: for ſayes hee: There are many other things which Ieſus did, the which if they were written eueryevery one, I ſuppoſe the world could not containe the bookes that ſhould be written: And ſo hee wrote not all things, which Chriſt did, neither was he of purpoſe to write them, neither was he able to write them all: for if hee had written them all, the whole world could not hauehave contained the bookes that ſhould hauehave bene written. VponUpon this queſtion we may perceiue, how curious the braine of man is, and how immoderate his ingine and appetite is: there is nothing can content it: it cannot be contented with all things vvhichwhich are vvritten in the Olde and Newe Teſtament, with all thinges which are written by the Prophets, the Euangeliſts and Apoſtles, but it is euer ſeeking for more, ſeeking for new reuelations, new miracles, and ſuch other thinges. The Deuill knowes well enough this to bee our nature: and therefore he propines to the world an huge multitude of lies, vanities & fables, & eſpecially, to the Kingdome of the Antichriſt, to the Pope and his ſhauelings, who cānot content themſelues with the written word of God, the Olde & New Teſtament, but gripes greedily to vnwritten verities, as they call them, to traditions, which falſely they call, diuine Apoſtolicke, Eccleſiaſticke: ſo that, all men may perceiue, that the Popiſh religion ſerues not ſo much to worke Faith, and bring Saluation to men, as to ſatisfie their curioſitie and immoderate appetite. Let men take pleaſure in that religion, as they will, they may wel get their fooliſh appetit pleaſed & ſatisfied, but they wil neuer get true Faith nor Saluation by it. Then marke of Johns anſwere to this queſtion: That men ſhould keepe a meaſure in ſpeaking and writting theſe thinges which appertaine to religion and the worſhip of God: this did they, whome the Lord of olde employed to be penne-men of the Olde and New Teſtament: this did the Prophets, this did the Apoſtles, this did the Euangeliſts,: for in their writting they reſpected two things: Firſt, the infinite and incomprehenſible Majeſtie of God, and the vnmeaſurable and vnſpeakable greatneſſe and multitude of thoſe thinges that might hauehave bene written of that infinite and moſt glorious Majeſtie of God, and of Ieſus Chriſt his Sonne: Next, they reſpected the meane meaſure of mans vnderſtanding, and likewiſe of his Faith, which is not capable of all theſe things which may be written: therefore, by the Lords directiō in their writting, they applied themſelues to our capacity, & endeuoured to ſet down theſe things which ye Spirit of God thought might ſufficiently ſerue for our Faith & Saluatiō: for if all things had bene written concerning that infinite & incomprehenſible Majeſtie, our memories had bene ouerwhelmed, our vnderſtandings confounded, & our Faith ouerthrowne. Lamentable experience lets vsus ſee this day, that the Papiſt by their vnwritten verities, & infinite traditions ouerwhelme the world, & ſubuert the Faith of men. Now laſt, the forme of ſpeech which the Euangeliſt vſes, would be conſidered, when he ſayes, If all things were written, the world could not containe the bookes that ſhould be written. Men vvould thinke, that this ſpeech were hyperbolicke, & that the ſpeech farre exceeds the matter it ſelfe, but indeed, it is not ſo, but rather in this forme of ſpeech the Holy Spirit ſubmits Himſelfe to our infirmitie, & applies Himſelfe to our weake capacitie, & ſets down an infinite & incomprehenſible matter, in a forme of ſpeaking, which we may eaſily vnderſtand: for when John ſpake this, he conſidered & beheld that incomprehenſible & infinite deepeneſſe of that glorious Majeſtie which dwelt in Chriſt bodily, and which manifeſted it ſelfe in His works & miracles, which was able not only to ſwallow vp all the ſenſes and cogitations of all men, but alſo the Heauen & the earth and when He endeuoureth in ſome meaſure to expreſſe that incomprehenſible Highnes, after ſuch a ſpeech, & in ſuch tearmes as wee might vnderſtand, hee ſayes, The world could not containe the bookes that ſhould be written of Chriſt & His works, if they were all written: which ſpeech imports, that no liuing creature is able ſufficiētly to ſet out & by wordes to expreſſe that glorious Majeſtie, and His glorious wotks, and miracles that He wrought, according as their dignitie and excellencie required: for the whole world is not able to comprehend that infinite Majeſtie: for this wee ſhould not bee ignorant of, that this whole Scripture of the Olde and New Teſtament written by the Prophets & Apoſtles, which ſets out vntounto vsus the glorious Majeſtie of God, and His properties, His power, His merciemercy, His Iuſtice, His wiſdome, &c. is by infinite degrees inferior to the Majeſtie which it deſcribes vntounto vsus, & that the Spirit of God paintes Him not throughly & fully in His eſſence & nature, and in His owne perfection, as He is: No, but in painting Him out, Hee attempers His ſtile to our infirmitie & weakneſſe, that we may vnderſtand & beleeue: for there can be no words ſo high, ſo ſublime, ſo glorious inuented or deuiſed by any, that can bee ſufficient to expreſſe that Majeſtie which is incōprehenſible & infinite. Alwayes, ſeeing the Holy Spirit hath ſet down ſo much in the Scripture concerning that glorious & incomprehenſible Majeſtie of God, & His worſhip, as is ſufficient for our Saluation: let vsus therewith be content, and not curiouſly ſeeke for any more, and while we read, or heare the Scriptures, let vsus earneſtly craue at God, that He would worke faith in our ſoules, that we may beleeue, that Ieſus is that Chriſt the Sonne of God, & that in beleeuing we may hauehave life & Saluation through Him. To whome with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all praiſe, honour and glory for euermore. AMEN.